| Wicko / Warferry | |
|---|---|
| Wicko wearing racing No.48 at Wolverhampton's Pendeford Aerodrome in 1953 | |
| Role | Cabin Monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Foster Wikner Aircraft |
| Designer | Geoffrey N Wikner |
| First flight | 1936 |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 10 |
| Unit cost | £650 |
The Foster Wikner Wicko was a 1930s British two-seat cabin monoplane built by the Foster Wikner Aircraft Company Limited at Southampton Airport, Hampshire.
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Geoffrey Wikner was an Australian aircraft designer who moved to England in May 1934 and with his partners formed the Foster Wikner Aircraft Company Limited to build a low-cost two-seat high-wing monoplane. Low cost was helped by fitting a standard Ford V.8 water-cooled engine instead of an aero-engine. The V.8 was fitted with a Pobjoy reduction gear and was known as the Wicko F power unit. The prototype aircraft was built at the J.F. Lusty's furniture factory at Bromley-by-Bow. The completed aircraft, designated the Wicko F.W.1 was roaded to Stapleford Aerodrome, Essex and first flew in September 1936. Due to the 450 lb (200 kg) weight of the engine, the aircraft needed a long takeoff run and had a poor rate of climb.
The prototype was rebuilt as the Wicko F.W.2 with a more powerful but much lighter (227 lb or 103 kg) aircooled Cirrus Minor I engine. This resulted in a useful reduction in overall weight but the price increased from £425 to £650. The second and subsequent aircraft were built at Southampton (Eastleigh) Airport after the company moved in 1937. The second machine was initially powered by a Cirrus Major motor and designated F.W.3, but later re-engined with a Gipsy Major. The eight machines subsequently completed used this engine as reflected by the name Wicko G.M.1. At the start of the Second World War production ceased and one airframe remained unfinished.
One aircraft exported to New Zealand was impressed into wartime service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, crashing in 1942. Seven aircraft in the United Kingdom were impressed and another accepted directly into wartime service with the Royal Air Force, under the service name Warferry.
One aircraft first registered as G-AFJB in 1938 is still operational with a permit to fly (as of 2008). It has had an interesting life, being one of only two RAF machines to survive the war and has also recovered from a post-landing 80 ft (24 m) fall from a cliff.
Data from Jackson p. 207
General characteristics
Performance
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